LeBron Can Cap Best Year With Gold « NBA.com | Hang Time Blog
No one would have blamed LeBron James for finally taking a little time away from his lifes passion. After a decade of chasing a legacy, and a championship, he finally secured his title, leading the Miami Heat past Oklahoma City in The Finals. James won his third NBA regular season MVP award and snagged a Finals MVP to add to his treasure chest.
With a chance to add a gold medal to his 2012 haul Sunday in the Olympic final against Spain, James is attempting to add an extra layer on top of a cake already drowning in icing. Only Michael Jordan has had a comparable season, piling up all of the aforementioned honors, and that came 20 years ago when he led the Chicago Bulls to the second of what would be six NBA titles and then spent his summer dazzling the world while leading the original Dream Team to gold in the Barcelona Olympics.
When he did emerge from his funk, he spent time working out with another young star hunting for the same things. The workout session he and Durant dubbed Hell Week. It was then that Durant noticed the resolve that James leaned on to carry him through to a new, career-defining year.
LeBron is a strong-minded guy. You look at his face you couldnt even tell what he had been through, Durant said. They lost in The Finals, but he still had an unbelievable season. I guess people just expected them to win because he went to Miami and all that, but I can tell you first hand that just because you get that opportunity to fight for a championship it doesnt mean youre going to win it. And thats humbling thing to go through. But he went right back to work on his game, worked his tail off and you seriously couldnt tell if what people were saying about him affected him. He was locked in like that.
Hes as big as our centers and power forwards and passes like a point guard, Argentina and Spurs swingman Manu Ginobili said after the U.S. whipped them twice in five days, the final game of pool play and Friday nights semifinal. I dont know if anyone is unstoppable, but LeBron is about as close as you can get.
The King gets some respect